1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of cutting a fastener chain into individual slide fasteners at the position of a space portion, the fastener chain including space portions where no element is present which are provided at regular intervals along continuous interlocking element trains, and sliders each of which has a pull and is inserted in each length of the element trains lying between two adjacent space portions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A method of cutting a fastener chain has heretofore been known in which a fastener chain is moved in a horizontal direction and cut at the position of a space portion, the fastener chain including space portions where no element is present which are provided at regular intervals along continuous interlocking element trains, and sliders each of which is inserted in each length of the element trains lying between two adjacent space portions. Such a method has been previously disclosed in, for example, the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,781.
The cutting method disclosed in the above-mentioned patent comprises the steps of moving the fastener chain in the horizontal direction in such a manner that its bottom stop is disposed forwardly of an upper stop in terms of the feeding direction, moving the slider in such a manner that it abuts against the upper stop, sensing the position of the slider, thrusting the stopper lever of a space positioning sensor into the space portion to position the fastener chain, and then cutting the chain at the position of the space portion.
According to the conventional cutting method described above, the fastener chain is fed into a cutting device in the state wherein the pull of the slider inserted herein is located on the upper side of the fastener chain and lays on the face of the space portion. Consequently, when the length of the space portion is small or when the pull is long, the pull may interfere with the cutting, disabling it. In such a method, the types of fastener chain which can be cut are disadvantageously limited to those which have a sufficiently long space portion in comparison with the length of the pull.